


'Tis the Season

by huffletiika



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arya is a librarian, Barra is bella's daughter, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Gendry is a good uncle, Gendry is an architect, Meet-Cute, kind of slow burn, siblings love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28208406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffletiika/pseuds/huffletiika
Summary: From the prompt: Gendry takes his niece to the local library for story time [every tuesday morning]. He honestly loves spending the time with Barra... but he also likes seeing the cute librarian who reads the stories.Made a minor change to the prompt, hope you don't mind.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 22
Kudos: 150
Collections: Gendrya Gift Exchange 2020





	'Tis the Season

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lost_in_mirkwood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_in_mirkwood/gifts).



> Sorry for taking so long, dear! Work has been a b!tch this month, so I didn't have much time to write until yesterday. Hope you like it... and Merry Christmas!!!

It had been a long time since Gendry had set foot in Storm's End, the last time being just before he finished his career as an architect (the one he had gotten a scholarship for), when he had been told by some lawyers that he had to go there to attend the reading of the will of a father whom he had never met.

Growing up, it had always been just him and his mother, as his father had run away the moment he found out that his mother was pregnant, so it seemed very strange to have even been mentioned in his will.

He had considered not going, he had no intention of receiving consolation money from a father who had abandoned his mother because he was not man enough to bear the repercussions of his actions. But his roommate, Hot Pie (which is not his actual name, but the one that everyone knew him by), convinced him to at least go listen to what was going to be said, so then he'd have the satisfaction of telling the lawyers face-to-face to fuck off and leave him alone.

He didn’t need anything his sperm donor (as he likes to call him) had left him. He was finishing his career, and already had a couple job offers from major construction companies located in King's Landing. He had never needed anything from him. He had taken care of his mother's cancer treatment alone, and had also taken care of her funeral when she had lost the battle against it.

But his friend was right, he wouldn’t miss anything going to Storm’s End (for free) to attend to some will reading, maybe he could even take some time for a walk on the beach and enjoy the fresh air, since King's Landing was a pool of pollution, and the closest thing it had to a beach was mined with waste.

That testament reading turned out to be quite an entertaining event, actually.

In this, the two brothers of Robert Baratheon were present, one of them had an expression that made him look like he had a piece of shit under his nose, and the other seemed more interested in making out with his boyfriend that in what that piece of paper was going to say. There was also her father's widow, accompanied by her eldest son since the other two were studying abroad, and finally him and five other young people with the same features: black hair and blue eyes, being all of them Robert Baratheon's children.

Gendry felt bad for the widow, since three of them must have been born when she was already married to the deceased, but the feeling decreased as the woman opened her mouth and all that came out were contemptuous expressions towards him and the other five, and then evaporated when the will began to be read and in it was stated that he wasn’t leaving anything to her because he had discovered through a paternity test that their three children were not his, only leaving a fund to the two younger so that they could finish their studies.

She and her son stormed out of the room after that.

Robert Baratheon left his brothers his part of the family company, dividing it in equal parts, and naming the older as its CEO.

And after this, there were him and the other five, who apparently were his half-siblings, to whom he left the family property in Storm's End divided equally, an amount of money that would have been very helpful for his mother if he had received it during his childhood, and what seemed to be an apology letter for each of them.

He has never read his letter. But, unlike Mya (the oldest of them all), he hadn't destroyed it as soon as it got in his hands, he had just put it in his pocket and then in the bottom of one of his drawers at home. But Bella, who was close to his age and very much pregnant at the time, read it and sobbed her eyes out (pregnancy hormones, she would tell him later), and Edric and the twins had done it as well, but didn’t seem to be very impressed or moved by what was written there.

He was quite prepared to reject his part, he had made that trip for that sole purpose, but before he could open his mouth the lawyer informed them that they all had to accept their part or all the money would be frozen in the bank and the property would be given to the state, and he looked up at Bella (whose boyfriend had done the same thing to her that their father had done to all of their mothers) and knew that she needed the resources to give her son or daughter a better life than the one they had had, so he ended up signing just like everyone else.

They all kept in contact with each other after that, but Mya returned to her home in the Vale, where she lived with her husband and two children, and the twins and Edric returned to their respective mothers and families. So, in the end, only he and Bella were left in Storm's End to make all the arrangements, since he lived quite close by in King's Landing, and she had decided to stay in Storm’s End as she had no more family left in the Riverlands and wanted a fresh start.

They ended up keeping the huge Baratheon state, as neither of their uncles wanted it, and due to a clause in the will that stated that they couldn’t sell it in another ten years. But, since none of them wanted to live there, they decided to turn it into a kind of restaurant and event room, which Bella would be in charge of managing, and for which all the siblings decided to invest.

So, Gendry took charge of designing the renovations and supervising them remotely, further asking Bella not to send him his money from the profits, but to reinvest it in the business. She accepted, but still sent him the balance of his money every month so he knew how it was being used, and he was grateful for that.

Because of this, it is with Bella with whom he has maintained a closer relationship, although work got in the way and he could not go back to Storm's End, not even when his niece was born, nor during the holidays of the next five years.

But, this year was different.

His boss had been considering expanding and opening a new branch office in Storm's End for a while, and after seeing the great work he had done in the years he had been working as his head architect, he had asked Gendry if he wanted to take over, considering that he had family there.

He accepted, why wouldn’t him? moving to Storm’s End would be amazing, as King’s Landing was starting to become a little bit too much for him.

Besides, he could travel ahead of schedule and finally be able to spend the holidays with Bella and her daughter.

“You don’t mind, right uncle?!” Barra’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, making him notice that the little five-year-old was tugging at the sleeve of his sweater, and looking at him with her huge blue eyes full of expectation, as if she was waiting for his answer about something.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked the little girl, who somehow managed to roll her eyes just like a grown-up would.

“Pay attention, uncle!” she scolded him, and he had to bite his lips to hold his laugh. “I have to go to Christmas story time at the library, but mom called and said she can’t get home on time because they’re full at the restaurant, and wanted to know if you could take me,” she explained. “You can, right? Please, tell me you can… Miss Stark’s story times are the best, and she promised to read one of her favorite Christmas stories this time.”

He sighed. He didn’t know who this Miss Stark was, but his niece seemed to like her a lot, and who was he to deny the little girl such healthy amusement? Besides, when he had arrived at Storm`s End a week ago, his sister had told him that he could stay with them while he found an apartment where he would like to live in, so he had promised her that he would take care of Barra if the babysitter had to leave early and she was still at the restaurant, and things like going to the library for Story Time were apparently included in the deal, so he shrugged in response.

“Yeah, of course. Go get your coat,” he told the girl, and she squealed with excitement before running up the stairs to her room.

Gendry chuckled.

The drive to the library wasn’t long, and he was surprised to notice there was quite a great number of people entering the building with their children when they were parking in front of it. Was Story Time in the library that popular in the Stormlands? He asked himself as he turned off the engine, and he got out of the car, going around it to open the door for his niece, who got out with a little jump while holding both straps of her backpack with her little hands.

“Miss Stark is amazing,” she was telling him as they walked inside the building. Well, he was walking, she was practically dancing. “She told us last time that she has a dog that’s half wolf, half wolf!” she emphasized her words, and laughed. “She said she would bring pictures today, because there were some laws against bringing a dog that big to the library, but I think the…”

Barra continued speaking, but his mind couldn’t catch up as the most beautiful woman he had even seen appeared right I front of him, and it was too busy noticing every little detail on her beautiful face to focus in anything else.

Gods above, she was gorgeous.

She wasn't very tall, but the high tight jeans she wore allowed him to notice that her legs were long and toned, and perfectly desirable. She was wearing a Christmas sweater, which matched the reindeer antler headband that she wore in her brown hair, which was tied up in a northern-style braid. But, what took his breath away were her large gray eyes, which seemed to shine in a different way when touched by the faint ray of light that came through the window.

“Come meet Miss Stark, uncle!” Barra called him, and only then he noticed that he had been paralyzed in the middle of the way, and that his niece had continued walking until reaching the woman.

He sighed, and walked until standing in front of Barra and the woman, noticing her eyes were much brighter from up close.

“Miss Stark, this is my uncle Gendry, remember I told you about him? that he was going to move to Storm’s End, and that he would be here for the holidays?” she asked the woman, and she nodded before looking back at him. “Uncle Gendry, this is Miss Stark, remember I told you about her in the car? she’s from Winterfell!” he introduced them, and then one of her friends called her so she ran off, leaving them alone.

“I think-”

“Pleasu-” they spoke at the same time, and laughed when they noticed it.

“Sorry… pleasure to meet you, Miss Stark,” he said, offering his hand for her to shake it.

“Arya, please call me Arya,” she said, taking his hand. He tried his best to scold his features to not show how her touch had made his insides shake. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet Barra’s favorite uncle.”

He laughed.

“She only said that because Edric and the twins live too far away,” Gendry explained, and hid his hand behind his back after she released it, because he didn't want to lose the feel of her skin in it. “The pleasure is completely mine, Arya,” he added with a smirk, but their conversation was cut short by a group of parents and children who came to greet her, so with a shake of his head he said goodbye, and went to sit in the back of the area designated for reading, while Barra went to sit in the front.

“It was amazing!” Barra was practically jumping as they were leaving the library, telling him everything about the beautiful Christmas story Miss Stark… Arya, had read for them, as if he hadn’t been in the same room and had listened it himself. “I want to be like the princess of winter, and fall in love with the brave smith, and travel with him to save the Christmas spirit!” she continued, and he chuckled.

“I think you could wait a couple years more for the falling in love part,” he said, as he opened his car’s door for her. Twenty years, at least, he added mentally. “But maybe you can save the spirit of Christmas with your uncle by going with me to buy a tree tomorrow,” he suggested, leaning on the door. “We can decorate it together with your mom when she gets home.”

She squealled again, and went to plan their entire next day as he circled the car to get to the driver's seat, telling him that they could get some ice cream before getting home, and he didn't have the willpower to deny her that.

A couple of days later there was another story time activity in the library, but this time Bella got to leave the restaurant earlier, so there was no need for him to accompany Barra this time.

Except, he wanted to.

"I don't get it, wouldn't you rather stay at home watching a football game, or something like that?" his sister asked him when he volunteered to be the one to take his niece to the library. "I’m pretty sure you have more interesting things to do than sitting for an hour listening to a librarian tell stories to children," she added, and he shrugged.

"I like hanging out with Barra," he explained, and even though he wasn't lying about it, a part of him told her that he wasn't being completely honest, that there was a reason with big gray eyes why he wanted to go that day. back to the library. "Besides, you've been working late all these days, and you are going to be very busy in the next few days organizing the Christmas event that the town hall is going to do in the restaurant. Wouldn't you like to have an afternoon to rest?" he asked his sister, who did not have enough arguments to refute him.

Yes, she deserved a free afternoon.

And that's how he drove back to the library, with his niece sitting in the back seat, singing Christmas songs that made no sense at all.

The only thing he thanked his father and his vengeful will for was that through it he had met his siblings, and now he had a family, something he thought he would never have again after his mother died.

"Oh, did your sister ask you to accompany Barra again?" Arya's voice sounded behind him, when he was reading the mold of some books in the mystery section, as he waited for the reading session to begin.

He turned to see her and smiled.

"Yes," he lied as to save his pride, happy for being able to speak to her alone again.

If this was what was going to happen every time he accompanied Barra to the library, he was going to have to keep making up valid excuses for his sister to take over that role indefinitely.

"I'm very glad that Barra has an uncle like you, and that you have moved to Storm's End, she seems to be very happy lately, and I’ve also noticed that she is chatting more with other children who come to the readings," she commented, and Gendry followed her gaze to where Barra was playing with two other children who were in the front of the room. "She is a very sweet girl," she added, and he nodded.

They talked some more, he told her that he was an architect and about the firm he worked for, and she told him about how she had moved to Storm's End to study Anthropology, and that she had ended up working part-time in the library to have some extra money to go around.

"I'm graduating in the summer," she commented, and her gaze went to where the children were already settling in for the reading to begin. "And I'm looking to get a full-time job at some charitable foundation here in Storm's End after that, though, I wouldn't mind keeping my job at the library... I've grown a little fond of this place," she added, and he couldn't help the smile that crept across her face.

"I'm starting to grow fond of it as well," he admitted, and then kept his eyes on her as she walked to the front of the room, sitting in the back again.

"You and Miss Stark are friends now?" his niece asked him when they were gathering their things to leave the library. "I saw you talking and smiling a lot," she added, and inevitably his gaze went to said woman, who was saying goodbye to a kid and his mother.

"Hmm... I don't know, I guess," he comments, with a shrug. "I really enjoyed talking to her," he added, and if he hadn't been too focused on seeing the librarian across the room, he would have noticed the mischievous smile that formed on the little girl's face.

"Gendry… wait!" the female voice stopped him before he could close the door of his car, and his gaze found Arya running in the direction of his car, so he worriedly got out of it, thinking something bad had happened.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he asked nervously, waiting while Arya caught her breath after running all the way to the parking lot from inside the library.

"Yeah... this," the librarian took a couple breaths. "Barra left her sketchbook forgotten in the reading room," she explained, showing him the pink notebook that had her niece's name written in glitter on the cover.

How strange, he thought, he could have sworn he'd stuffed it into her backpack while they were packing up before leaving.

"Oh, my notebook!" Barra yelled from the back seat of the car, sticking her little hands out the window for the item to be handed to her, which Arya did immediately.

Gendry looked at her with a smile on his face.

"Thank you very much for saving Barra’s notebook, I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't realized it until we got home," he commented, and was stunned by the smile that formed on her lips.

Damn, how beautiful she was.

"Don't worry, I'm glad to help," she replied, and he felt even more stunned when she placed her hand on his forearm and gave it a soft stroke. "Well, I have to go back there, the kids always make a mess during the reading sessions and I have to organize before I can go home," she explained, but before she could turn to leave he stopped her.

"Wait," he said, unsure of what he was going to say when she turned to look back at him. "I... uh, do you need help? I mean… I can help, as a thank you? My sister will understand if we arrive a little late, wouldn’t she?” he wondered, looking at his niece, and she nodded so he looked back at the librarian, who seemed taken aback.

“I don’t want to bother,” she said, and Gendry noticed a slight blush on her cheeks, though It was probably because she was flushed out from the run that she had just done to get to their car.

“It’s not a bother, really, considering this little monster was one of the kids who left said mess,” he explained, pointing at his niece.

“Hey!” Barra complained, and he sent her an apologetic smile.

“So?” he asked, turning back to look at Arya, and saw how she bit her lower lip, wishing he was the one doing that.

Damn.

“Can we help you?” he asked again, and smiled when she nodded.

The three of them walked back inside the library, and at Gendry's request, Barra left her backpack with her belongings inside the car, lest she was going to forget something inside the library again.

There was actually a big mess in the reading room. Children's books were scattered around, cushions covered in crumbs of what appeared to be cookies, and someone had even spilled juice on the floor and hadn't deigned to wipe it off. He decided that he had done well to offer to help her, as it would be a shame if she had to clean all this up alone when it was not her fault. What time would she go home if she had not had help?

And, speaking of getting home...

"How are you going home? Do you have a ride?" he asked, as he picked up a pile of books and put it next to her so she could sort them up.

He had no idea about the codes that librarians used to organize books, so he didn't mean to meddle in it for fear fucking it up, which he would surely do.

“I have a car, but I prefer to use the tube when I come to the library,” she replied, looking up at him with a bright smile that made him completely forget what he had planned to say.

“Oh, okay.” He cleared his throat, which was suddenly too dry. “Err, maybe we can give you a ride? I mean, it's pretty late and the subway can't be very safe, right? I'd feel better if I made sure you get home safely... and Barra too.”

She laughed as response.

“I can take care of myself, Gendry,” she replied, and he felt embarrassed. He had screwed up, surely. She must be thinking that he's one of those guys who believes that women can't defend themselves.

“Yeah, of course you can… I know, I mean, I suppose you do, I just-”

"But I'd appreciate the ride, if Barra do not mind," she interrupted him, ending his shameful attempt to apologize.

“She doesn’t” he replied, and at that moment their gazes met and he stood there gawking, completely forgetting the world around them, wishing he could have the courage to bring his face close to hers and join their lips in a kiss.

It was ridiculous how much he liked her, when he had known her for such a short time. it was as if there was a force similar to gravity that was pulling him towards her, and which he could not resist.

"Uncle, I already picked up the cushions and put them in the basket," his niece's voice made both of them jump, as if he wasn't the only one who had been stunned, and when he turned to see her he noticed the pleased smile on her face. "Is it time to go home?" she asked, and he turned to see Arya with the same question drawn on his face.

She nodded.

"Yeah, err... if everything is organized, I can take care of putting these books in their place tomorrow morning," she replied, putting her hand on the pile of books he had brought to his desk. "I'm going to get my purse so we can go," she added, running to go behind a door that was supposed to be where the employees kept their personal belongings.

"Is she coming with us?" Barra asked, and he nodded.

"I offered to take her home, is that okay with you?" he asked, and the girl nodded excitedly.

"Yes, that's perfect!" she replied, with a big smile. "Do you think she would introduce me to her dog? I want to meet her! she said her name is Nymeria, you know, like my favorite heroine!"

"I don't know, you ask her," he replied, and she smiled cheerfully, asking the question right away when Arya returned, and giving an excited little cry when she answered that it would be a pleasure to introduce Nymeria to her.

“Barra told me you have a date for Christmas eve,” Bella asked him with a teasing tone, as they were having breakfast the next day. “She said it was the girl who reads at the story times in the library,” she added with a huge grin.

“It’s not a date,” he said, keeping his eyes on his plate. Barra was such a snitch. “We drove her to her place last night and she told us she wanted to spend the holidays with her family in Winterfell, but that she couldn't because of work, so I invited her to the event at the restaurant… I mean, nobody deserves to spend Christmas alone.”

He knew that because he had done it several times, specially since Hot Pie moved to the Riverlands to work in that fancy resort at the crossroads.

His sister raised her hands defensively.

“I'm not recriminating anything, I was just going to tell you that I'm glad you're already meeting people here,” she said, and then laughed. “Although, are you sure you don't want it to be a date? Barra told me that you seemed to like Miss Stark very - _very-_ much” she raised her eyebrows, and he grunted.

“Your daughter is such a gossip,” he said, making his sister laugh.

“Wow!” It was all he could say when Arya opened the door to her apartment the day before Christmas, his gaze navigating the feminine curves that the fitted red dress she was wearing allowed him to see.

And those legs…

 _Just, wow_.

She smiled, and he felt like melting.

“I still have to put my heels on, do you mind waiting for a couple of minutes?” she asked, and he shook his head as she allowed him to enter her apartment, which she had already seen the night he had driven her home from the library.

Barra wanted to meet her dog, after all.

She entered through a corridor that should lead to the bedrooms, and he couldn't help but glance at what she had in her living room, noticing the photographs of who must have been her family, although most of these were redheads. But one of them, the one whose hair was brown like Arya’s, looked too familiar, like he had seen him somewhere before. 

"Those are my siblings and my cousin," her voice behind him made him jump. He hadn’t noticed until that moment that he had been staring at the photograph. "My cousin is the only one who looks like me, we both inherit our looks from the Stark family, while my siblings look more like my mom's family," she continued, referring to the one who seemed so familiar to him, while putting on an earring and walking in his direction.

“It must have been interesting growing up with so many siblings at home,” he commented, and she laughed.

“It was,” she agreed, and then he noticed a look of confusion that formed on her face. “But, I remember you told me that Barra's mother wasn’t your only sibling, didn't you grow up together?” she asked, and he shrugged.

“We are half siblings,” Gendry explained. “We share the same father but we have different mothers… well, except the twins, for obvious reasons. So, we didn’t grow up together. In fact, we didn't know about the others' existence until five years ago.”

She seemed surprised.

“That’s Barra's age,” she said, and he nodded.

“Bella was pregnant the day I met her,” he commented, as they walked out of the apartment, passing by her dog who was sleeping peacefully on the sofa. “Out of the siblings, we were the ones who stayed closer, but I suppose it’s because we lived nearby, and because I took care of the renovations of the restaurant while she’s the one who’s managing it… the property was part of the inheritance our father left us.”

Arya nodded, and then they walked to his car, whose door he opened for her.

“M’lady,” he jokingly said with a bow as she entered to his car.

She laughed and shook her head.

“You’re such an idiot,” she said in a fun way, before closing the door.

At the beginning, the drive to the restaurant had been quiet, but not uncomfortable, as both of them took turns to put their favorite music and discovered that they liked the same bands. Then, they began to debate animatedly about the genre of the songs of one of their favorite bands, concluding that the only word that could define it would be experimental, and ending with a ranking of their five favorite songs from them, being surprised to realize that both had put 'My Feather Bed' first.

Arya let out a little cry of surprise when they parked in front of the restaurant, which Bella had called 'The Black Stag' in honor of her father's family sigil, and turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“You’re Robert Baratheon’s son,” she claimed, surprising him.

“Did you know him?” he asked as she started laughing, making him feel self-conscious suddenly.

“Our fathers were best friends,” she said, with a nod. “I believe you met my father, he’s the lawyer who read your father’s will.”

Gendry was left speechless.

That’s why the guy in the picture seemed so familiar, he thought. Arya had told him that she and her cousin had taken their looks from her father’s side of the family. It's a small world, isn’t it? He laughed and shook his head.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” he confessed, rubbing his neck, and she looked up at him with a warm smile.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything,” she said, and her hand went to his cheek, sending a warm current through his body, which made him remember that he was there alone in the car with the girl who had stolen all his thoughts in recent days. “But I must warn you that I am going to tell my father that I finally found one of his old friend's children, he has not stopped bothering me to do so.”

“And what are you going to tell him about me?” he asked, feeling mesmerized by her gray gaze, and being aware that she had not yet removed her hand from his face.

“Not sure yet,” Arya said, and somehow, she was the only other living person that existed in the world for him. “Maybe, that you’re nice with your niece, and that you recently moved to Storm’s End?” she continued, and he had a thought that maybe it was getting hotter inside that car. "Do you think it would be appropriate to tell him that you are handsome?”

“You think I’m handsome?” he couldn’t help asking, and she smiled.

“Mhm…” she nodded.

“What else do you think about me?” feeling a bit more confident because of her words, he took one of his hands to her thigh, and she sighed in response.

“I think your eyes are overly blue.”

“Is there a right amount of blue?” he teased her, and she rolled her eyes.

“Shut up, or I won’t tell you what else I think about you” Arya scolded him, and waited until he nodded to continue. “I think your eyes are overly blue,” she repeated. “That you look really good in a suit,” was she getting closer? He felt his throat go dry. “And, that you’re taking way too long to kiss me, so if you don’t do it right now I will-”

He didn’t let her finish her words, as his lips covered hers in a fervent kiss, one that put every other thought that wasn’t her out of his mind, as his arms circled her and pulled until making her sit on his lap, while her hands found their way into his hair.

A slight chuckle escaped his lips as he broke the kiss, to which she responded with a slight laugh that also came out from hers.

“That was…”

“I know.”

They chuckled again.

“I wanted you to do that since the other day, when you and Barra helped me in the library,” she confessed, putting their foreheads together.

“I wanted to do that since we met,” he responded, and they both laughed, before bringing their lips together again in a passionate kiss.

Barra might be too young to be in these kind of parties, Bella knew that very well, but she also knew that she couldn't leave her home alone on Christmas Eve, since Gendry would also attend the party, so she arranged for her to be at the party until her bedtime, and after this she would take care of taking her to one of the rooms of guests that they had left on the upper floors, where attendees normally changed clothes for events like weddings or sweet-sixteens.

She watched her daughter as she danced around the dance floor in her blue velvet dress, the one that made her blue eyes shine much brighter than usual, and that she had told her made her feel like a princess.

That made her happy.

As a child, she hadn’t had many opportunities, mainly because of the profession her mother had had, and the bad habits she was involved in to endure what she had to do every day.

Yet, she never judged her, she knew that her mother had gone to great lengths to raise her alone, and she wished she had a better ending than the one she had. A happier one. But it wasn't possible, and Bella vowed that she would never follow in her mother's footsteps, that she would forge a better future for herself.

Then she got pregnant, and her stupid boyfriend ran away as soon as she told him, and the only thing she could think of was that story was repeating itself, that she had failed.

And then, they were telling her that her father knew about her, and that he had given her (and her five siblings, for god’s sake!) a huge house and money, and suddenly she knew she would be able to give her daughter a better life.

It was some kind of miracle.

She had a good relationship with all her siblings. Mya had been a great help when Barra was born, giving her a few tips about motherhood, and Edric was always sending her and Barra gifts on important dates. The twins were too young (and too focused on their own careers) to communicate much with her, but they were always liking and leaving messages on her photos, and from time to time they called to see how they were.

And then there was Gendry, who had seemed rather sullen at first, but who was the first to jump on the idea of turning their father's house into a restaurant and letting her manage it… who, despite not having been present at Storm's End those five years, had been watching over her and Barra as if he had been. And, now he was moving to Storm’s End, bonding with Barra, and she couldn't be happier.

And, speaking of his brother, shouldn't he have arrived already? As he had told her, the librarian's house didn't go far out of its way to the restaurant, so in theory it wouldn't take more than half an hour to show up at the party.

She was about to take out her phone to make a call when she saw him walking in her direction, holding hands with Miss Stark, and with the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.

Did this mean that she had a new sister-in-law? she asked herself, before greeting the newcomers.

"What took you so long?" she asked her brother after giving him a hug, and noticed the heated look he gave the woman next to him, and what appeared to be a red lipstick mark on his neck.

She laughed.

"You know what? You don't have to answer that," she continued, and then took a napkin off one of the canapé tables and offered it to him. "But, you should clean up here," he pointed to his neck, and he immediately did as she told him. She then looked at the other woman. “I’m very glad you could make it to the party, Miss Stark, and that you and my brother got along so well, as my daughter always speaks highly of you.”

“Please, call me Arya,” she replied with a slight blush, and Bella nodded.

"Then you should call me Bella," she replied, before flashing a smile at his brother, who had finally wiped the evidence of whatever they were doing before entering the party from his skin. "I think we're going to be great friends," she concluded, and then excused herself saying that she should go take a look at her little girl, so that the lovebirds could enjoy some time alone.


End file.
